


Hornet's Nest

by Monsoon



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drama & Romance, Gangs, M/M, Mild Smut, Mob Boss Eren, like it's tastefully vague
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-05-27 06:11:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6272950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monsoon/pseuds/Monsoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Levi watches him standing in the rain with a gun in his hand and a bloody man on his knees before him and wonders what on earth happened to the boy who left him six years ago. He's a stranger now, almost unrecognisable; an unfamiliar man with steel in his eyes and blood on his knuckles. He hardly looks like he needs protecting, but old habits die hard.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Levi stumbles across his ex-lover after six long years and is surprised by what he has become. Nonetheless, he can't help being drawn to Eren again in more ways than one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Levi wasn’t sure what he was doing.

He wasn’t sure if this could even be real.

Maybe someone had slipped something in his drink? Maybe he’d inhaled something they’d been pumping in through the vents to keep the club attendants enthused. Did they do that? He thought the smoke coating the dance floor smelled fruity. Or did it always?

Point was Levi Ackerman was in a club. It wasn’t even a nice, generic, popular club on the right side of town.

Well, it could be. He didn’t remember what side of town he was on.

Anyway, he was in a club. A dubious, dark, sketchy club with multiple levels patrolled by bouncers in properly tailored suits and sharp eyes. These weren’t muscle for hire. These were trained professionals. By sketchy, he didn’t mean the place was decrepit and filthy either; in fact, it was how well-kept and clean it was _– for a club_ – that sent off alarm bells in his brain. Or so he thought he could judge; again, he could be on something. Tripping like every other club attendee.

And, if that wasn’t surreal enough, he was following Eren.

Eren, whom he hadn’t seen in – what? – five years? Six? Levi did the maths, which was easy enough to support the theory that he wasn’t intoxicated but didn’t necessarily discount that this could still be some sort of dream. Eren had been twenty then. Levi twenty-six. Yep, six years.

Levi jolted back to reality as he stumbled over his own feet. He’d left the main dancing floor behind now. The music still thumped loud and blearily all around him, but it was more muffled. Here booths and pleather lounges were wedged in intimate circles fringed by thick, dark curtains. People were curled up and chatting in the seats, but they were all gloomy silhouettes that blended together like shadows. Levi forced his gaze forward, probing the backlit corridors and winding paths for the familiar figure of his ex. The air was hazy with smoke machine smog, tobacco, alcohol, sweat, and the suspiciously unfamiliar, penetrating scent of drugs. Levi wouldn’t be able to identify them, but what else could it be?

Back to Eren. Focus.

His shirt stuck to his back and his vision swam. Levi couldn’t remember drinking more than the one shot Farlan had basically force-fed him, but he was way too gone for one drink. He wanted to sleep. Those lounges looked comfortable – and clean. But no. Levi shook his head, almost sadly, like he was turning down an invitation from the furnishings themselves. Or clearing his head. He needed to. Where was Eren?

There he was.

He looked different. Six years could change a boy a lot. He wasn’t that much taller, but he looked a lot older. He had filled out a lot; filled out his sharp cut suit in a way that made it almost look too tight, but intentionally so. Like, look – I can fill out a suit. With muscle, too, not flub. Shit, the boy was big. His jaw was covered in neatly-trimmed stubble and his eyes were hard and serious. Hair, oh, Levi loved Eren’s hair. Still did, even though it was not the natural, un-kept, over-grown mess of thick brown waves falling over his eyes and tickling the collar of his shirt any more. It was an expensive cut now, brushed back and styled with actual product and not sweat or water like back then. No, Eren was an adult now. These years had really changed him. He looked like the son of some business mogul, or a young entrepreneur.

When Levi had first spotted him, he’d been standing on the central balcony of the second floor, scanning the pulsing crowd beneath him with two bouncers at his wings like he was overseeing his kingdom. Levi had frozen on the dance floor, staring up at the boy – _man_ – in disbelief. He’d watched Eren tilt his head and the bouncer – who was looking more like a bodyguard now – lean forward immediately to hear him. Then he’d nodded and disappeared, and after one final glance over the club, Eren too had turned to move away, the final guard trailing obediently behind him.

And Levi had followed.

Why? He wished he could say he hadn’t thought about it. That seeing his ex after over half a decade had just sparked some polite instinct in him that made him want to say hello. But Levi didn’t have a polite instinct, and Levi didn’t ‘not think’ about a lot of things.

This was a dodgy place. He might be tripping, he might be drunk, but Levi was not an idiot. The people who came here had all been here before.  They all had a look, he couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but they were comfortable here and in their element. No ordinary club had dozens of bouncers in identical, pristine suits patrolling every corner. No club looked this clean, this organized. No club had this many back doors.

And Eren? What was his hand in this? Levi was worried. It might have been six long years, and Eren a grown man now, but all Levi could see was the lanky boy with a dorky, lop-sided grin and innocent wide eyes that had looked at Levi once like he hung up the moon. The boy he used to pull out of fistfights and threaten with violence to get him to study. So he couldn’t not worry. Six years radio silence that had started so abruptly, and he fell back into routine like it had been just yesterday.

Raw wounds open easy.

The bodyguard shadowing Eren murmured something in his ear before splitting away and heading down the back wall of the club towards a door on the opposite end. Eren was alone, and as he opened up a door marked with an exit sign and slipped out, Levi followed close behind.

It was raining outside. Levi didn’t remember if it had been earlier that night. His shirt was sticky, but that could have just as easily been sweat and spilled drinks. The back exit opened up into a side alley that was all uneven bricks, overflowing drains, and peeling old posters plastered to stained alley walls. The only light came from the moon, muted and dim behind a heavy screen of storm clouds. Levi felt like he’d stepped into a scene from a noir film.

Eren walked different now. He used to have the unhurried lope of a typical teenager; hunched shoulders and loose-limbs. He used to drag his feet and take in the view. It used to piss Levi off. Now he found he missed it.

Now he was different. He had the purposeful stride of a man with somewhere to be. If he’d been walking against a crowd, Levi could picture the way it would part before him like the Red Sea. He couldn’t see his face from behind him, but from the set of his shoulders and the poise of his chin, he could only imagine how his expression must look. He walked through the rain in his expensive suit like he was walking through the terminal of an airport on his way to catch a First-Class flight; dress shoes loud against the wet bricks of the alley. They’d only dated two months but Levi couldn’t see a shred of the boy he’d fallen in love with six years ago.

He turned a corner and Levi hesitated before creeping up cautiously, sticking to the alley wall like he expected gunfire. He sort of did.

As he closed in, he heard noises. At first it was hard to hear over the deadening white noise of the steady rainfall and distant thrum of traffic. The club music still permeated the air too, the bass like the muffled heartbeat of a slumbering beast. Levi stilled as he reached the edge of the wall. He closed his eyes and listened, willing his head to stop spinning and his senses to calm.

He’d been involved in enough fights to recognise the sound of one. He’d also been involved in enough to distinguish a fair, evenly-matched fistfight from the sound of a single person being completely pummelled.

In that second, all Levi could think of was twenty year old Eren who’d charge into fights with four people at a time without a scrap of self-preservation. That’s all he could think of, and that’s all he needed to forget all thoughts of gunfire and gangs and go charging around the corner with Eren’s name on his lips.

It was almost comical what Levi found. The sight of a proper beat-down paused mid-action as everyone – including the bloodied stranger on his knees getting the ass kicked – looked up at the man who’d come charging into the fray. Half a dozen ‘bouncers’ paused their brutal assault and stared at him like they couldn’t quite grasp what they were seeing. Levi couldn’t either, but all he was seeing was Eren. Eren overseeing the show from the centre of the alley, legs squared and shoulders relaxed like he did this every day, in his hand the unmistakeable shape of a gun.

Slowly and deliberately, with the unrushed conviction of someone who hadn’t been in a position of disadvantage for years, the boy turned.

His hair had come loose a bit, rinsed out by the light rain and mussed from the fight. Wet strands hung over his brow, dripping and messy, and when those bright green eyes widened in recognition and those thick brows rose in shock, he looked so much like he did six years ago, it drove the air from Levi’s lungs.

Eren’s lips fell open, and when he breathed Levi’s name, he shouldn’t have heard it over the rain and the music and the traffic and his own heartbeat pounding at a million miles a minute. But he did.

He’d been waiting six years to hear that voice say his name again.


	2. Chapter 2

His room was small. It was the smallest one in the shared student house, but worth it for the lesser rent. He’d managed to wedge in a double bed, a nightstand, and a TV so close to the foot of the bed that if he jostled around too much the speakers tended to get knocked to the ground. It wasn’t a nice room, he couldn’t afford nice things back then; a student paying his school fees upfront and squirreling the rest away to pay bills meant even owning a double bed was a relative luxury. It had set him back a month.

He lay in it now watching the blinds dance in the afternoon sun. They painted his bed in orange stripes, rippling over the uneven bed sheets like disturbed waters. They painted Eren in sunlight, his gold skin shimmering in the muted warmth, rising and falling gently with the even breaths of sleep. Levi rolled over to better watch his young lover. His fingers slid across the space between them and brushed the fair hairs dusting the boys arm. His eyelashes flickered against his cheeks, flushed from the heat and their activities, and chapped lips pouted.

 _I’ve ruined him_ , Levi thought rather self-indulgently as he watched the naked boy sleep beside him. Twenty-six, broke, overworked, and sleep-deprived – that’s what Levi was. But he had a double bed and a beautiful boy to fill up the extra space. He’d been with nothing long enough to appreciate when he had something of value. He pulled Eren close, ignoring his muffled protests and the discomfort of sticky body heat in the already warm room. He wrapped his arms around his lover and pressed his lips to the hair tickling his chin.

 _But he ruined me first_.

 

**********

Eren raised a single hand in a silent order, and the three bouncers who’d started forward to Levi immediately stilled in their tracks. They eyed their boss carefully, and as did Levi.

He looked at Levi curiously. His expression was one of detached interest. The initial shock and surprise was nowhere in sight now.

“I’ll take care of this,” He said to the men behind him. They shared uncertain looks between them, but returned to their ‘work’ without argument, leaving just Levi and Eren staring at each other across the alley. The rainwater dripped from his hair and into Levi’s eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to blink. He was strangely mesmerized by the image of Eren blurred as though by tears. He could pretend for a moment he was looking at the twenty year old boy again, his features hazy through his vision. He had never cried when Eren left him. He blinked and the image was gone, rainwater dripping down his cheeks and Eren, old and unfamiliar, was before him once more.

“Follow me, Levi.” He tucked the handgun into the back of his trousers and walked right past him. He didn’t even glance at him, even as their shoulders brushed. For the first time since he’d stepped into the rain, Levi felt cold. Without thinking, he turned and followed.

“How have you been?”

Levi looked up in surprised at the unexpected question. He stared at the back of Eren’s head a long while, trying to figure out if he’d been hearing things. They were back in the club now. Eren lead him in through one of the multiple doors dotting the back wall of the building into a small room. In it was a single sofa, a low coffee table, and a water cooler dispenser.

“Please. Sit down.” Levi remained standing.

Eren’s commercial smile wavered slightly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“ _Sit down_.” Levi arched his eyebrows. He quietly took a seat.

“So.” Levi watched Eren circle around the coffee table. He took his time filling up a foam cup with water and set it down before Levi. He leant against the opposite wall. “Night out with friends?”

Levi shrugged.

“Hanji and Mike?” Levi’s eyes closed. He still remembered names. He brought it up so casually like yeah, I remember your closest friends. I remember you introducing me to them and the time we went bar-hopping in the city. I remember leaning into your side, so drunk I could barely stand, and begging you to take me home because I was ‘tired and horny’. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Did he?

When Levi opened his eyes again, Eren looked as composed as before. It wasn’t right; this boy who was once such an open book.

“No,” he replied, finding some satisfaction in the fact that Eren was wrong. “Different friends.”

“Ah.” He nodded. Like they were strangers at a bus stop discussing the weather. “Anyone I know?”

Levi’s heart squeezed and he let out a dry, cracked laugh. His covered his face with his hands.

“Why don’t you just cut the crap and ask me what you want to ask. Are you alone? How many people are you with? How long until someone notices you’re missing?” It sounded so ludicrous but he was probably right. What the fuck had he stumbled in on? “What are you going to do, Eren? _Shoot me?_ ” he looked pointedly at the waistline of his trousers, at where he knew the gun was. He started laughing. This was so absurd. He hoped someone _had_ slipped something in his drink.

Eren’s eyes narrowed. He looked annoyed and frustrated but Levi was just happy to see emotions on that strangely familiar face again. It made it look more recognisable, like watching an old movie you feel like you've seen but it doesn't quite hit you until a certain scene plays and it all comes rushing back. 

“Fine. I’ll cut the crap. I can do that.”

“Great. Excellent. Took you six years, but hey, better late than never.”

Eren’s shoulders sank and he looked at Levi with a scornful smile.

“Wow, really? Very mature.”

“I reserve the right to be just a little bit bitter.” Levi held up a thumb and forefinger an inch apart, his voice mocking.  “I think I deserve that; you kind of walked out without any explanation.”

“We’re doing this now?”

“Well, we didn’t do it before, did we?” Levi spread his arms wide and stared at Eren expectantly. The alcohol was making him a little more vocal about his general state of displeasure than normal.

“I _did_ give you an explanation, remember? You were sitting on your garden bench chain-smoking a thirty pack like a chimney and chugging a stubby. Maybe you couldn’t hear me through the cloud of smoke smothering your emotionally-stunted head.”

Levi barked out a laugh.

“Emotionally stunted? Me?” He smiled wide in disbelief. “Wow.”

Eren took in a deep breath and it hurt to see how quickly he could compose himself now. Six years ago it took him hours to rein his temper back in after an outburst. Eren leveled him with a flat stare, but his eyes remained hostile and wary.

“Why are you here, Levi?”

“I came to a fucking club to get shit-faced with friends, not to see you. Fuck, I haven’t heard from you in _six years_. You think I came for _you?_ ” The older man sneered. Eren didn’t even flinch and it pissed Levi off even more because he just wanted to hurt him. He wanted to hurt Eren so badly. How could he stand there with hard eyes and a straight-face after seeing Levi again so many years later? How could he be so composed when Levi was so emotionally compromised? It was embarrassing. It had been six years; he thought he was over this. He’d dated since then, he’d fucked since then. It had been months since he’d even spared Eren a thought, but suddenly he was right back where he started; sitting on the cheap garden bench in his backyard with the peeling white paint embedded in his skin, smoking for the first time in weeks because when Eren had messaged him that morning about needing to talk, he’d known what was coming.

A dozen cigarettes and three beers still hadn’t softened the blow.

“You need to leave.” Eren looked at him with a mixture of sadness and professional patience. His arms were crossed over his chest and his shoulders straight; body language distant and detached. He looked at Levi like an over-worked counselor watching someone have a last minute break-down. ‘ _You have my sympathy, but I have another appointment in five so please can you do this elsewhere?_ ’ “Take your friends and get out of here. You get ten minutes, that’s all I can give you. We will be watching.”

Levi didn’t look up from the foam cup in his hands. He heard Eren sigh and push off the wall.

"Are you okay?" He didn’t look up as he heard the door open, but he knew Eren was still there and had heard him. "Are you... safe? Do you need help?"

The silence dragged out long and stifling. Levi almost looked up.

“Goodbye Levi. Please don’t come back.”

Eren shut the door behind him with quiet click. 


	3. Chapter 3

He couldn’t keep it from Isabel and Farlan long. He’d managed to usher them out of the club without too much trouble, hyper-aware of the watchful stares of the bouncers at his back the whole time, but once they were out he had to spill. They knew about his history with Eren, of course; they’d been the first people he’d gone to after that day six years ago after all. They knew well enough everything that had happened between them to know that when Levi admitted the next morning he’d be going back to the club to see Eren again, it wasn’t some excess pining and resurfaced affection driving him. Well, not completely.

“You do realise that it can’t just be any old club, right?” Farlan asked, enunciating each word like Levi was an idiot. As if Levi hadn’t seen for himself that scene in the back streets of the club, the unassumingly furnished back room with suspiciously new carpet, soundproof walls, and no cameras. As if he hadn’t seen Eren hold a gun like it was second nature to him. As if he hadn’t seen it all before.

“Yeah, Farlan. Gangs and shit, I get it.”

“Oh right,” The blond laughed, but just as quickly his expression dropped. “Cause usually you run _away_ from that shit.” He glared at Levi, all signs of humour suddenly gone. “What’s the matter with you, man? Why the fuck would you go back there?” He raised a hand as Levi made to speak. “I get it. Eren or whatever. But mate, that was _six fucking_ _years_ ago; Eren is _gone_. Homeboy’s a fucking gangster or some shit now, and you’re gonna go waltz back in there and – what – proposition him?!”

“No!” Levi put down his coffee and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly as Farlan continued to stare at him flatly across his living room waiting to shoot down whatever explanation he offered. “I’m over him, okay? It’s over, _I get it_ ,” Levi emphasized the words as his friend rolled his eyes. He hated that they thought he wasn’t thinking this through; that his judgment was clouded over by _feelings_ or something. This had nothing to do with rekindling an old flame. “I’m worried for him, okay? As a guy who cared about him a lot once, seeing what he’s tangled up in now concerns me. I can’t just leave him in there if he’s in trouble; I at least want to know if we should – I don’t know – call the cops or something.”

“Levi, you don’t call the cops on gangs; did you see that place? The authorities fucking know it exists,” Isabel interjected. Levi pulled a face. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he would do if it turned out Eren was caught in something big he wanted no part in; he just knew he had to do something.

“I know that, but I just want to know he’s okay. You can’t talk me out of this. Imagine that was Isabel you saw in there, Farlan. You’d at least want to know she was handling it, wouldn’t you?”

Farlan’s lips pressed into a thin line. He wasn’t pleased or satisfied, but he knew a lost cause when he saw one.

“How many times are you gonna let that kid fuck you over?” He grumbled, looking away.

“I’m coming with you,” Isabel announced. She hopped off the bar stool at the kitchen counter and shot Levi a determined smile. Levi didn’t even bother arguing, as against it as he was. He understood. They both turned to Farlan at the same time and the blond looked between them, quietly fuming. Finally, he threw up both hands in exasperation.

“Do you even have to fucking ask, you asshole?”

 

*********

Levi had been in clubs in the daytime. Seen it all when the illusion was stripped bare under sunlight without the packed crowds, strobe lights, booming music, and alcohol to mitigate the gritty, filthy reality. It was usually kind of sad and disappointing, trying to align your happily oblivious inebriated memories with the sorry image before you. He’d expected something similar from The 104th (named after the street number of the huge structure), so he was surprised and a little bit bewildered by what he found instead.

He remembered that the ‘club’ had been surprisingly clean and orderly, but had attributed that mostly to his alcohol (or whatever) hazed mentality at the time. He found the place even better than he remembered, and not just because now there weren’t drunk people everywhere and smoke smothering his senses. The carpets were clean, the walls stainless, and the main dance floor completely scuff free and polished to a shine. It didn’t even look like a club; all the heavy sound and lighting equipment had been packed up and put away, leaving the place looking like an especially labyrinthine cross between a contemporary office and a house of some sort equipped with an impressively extensive bar. It was hardly recognisable. There were people around, but they were a very different demographic to the patrons from last night. Corporate-looking folks strode purposefully through the building, shoes clicking smartly across the clean floors while talking low and urgently into their phones and shuffling important looking documents in their hands. The well-dressed bouncers from last night now looking completely at home standing ominously in the corners staring over everyone with keen, suspicious eyes.

Levi hesitated by the entrance, unsure how to proceed. Unsure if this was a good idea after all. Farlan nudged him from behind.

“Try the bar,” he suggested. Levi looked to where he’d motioned and agreed it did seem like the best place to start.

There were businessmen nursing expensive drinks on the spotless countertop, dressed in pristine designer suits and murmuring lowly between themselves or exchanging pleasantries with the bartender. The bartender today was a short, dark-skinned boy with a buzz-cut and wide, infectious smile. He moved with practised ease quickly and efficiently behind the counter, chatting familiarly with all the patrons he served, but all the while his dark eyes flitted around drinking in every detail around him. Levi would have bet good money he listened in on every word alcohol-loosened tongues spilled as well.

“New faces!” The boy said, face brightening as the trio hesitantly approached the bar. “Welcome, friends; my name’s Connie. What can I get ya?”

“I’m actually here to talk to someone.” Levi could do quietly intimidating; he had years of practise behind him. It was remarkably easy to slip back into the persona he’d struggled to conceal for years now, although it felt a little different in the same tight suit he’d worn to Isabel and Farlan’s wedding. He hoped it wasn’t obvious he wasn’t like the other businessmen here.

“Oh? Got an appointment?” Connie put down the glass he’d been polishing and craned around them to scan the floor. “Jean should be here to help direct you to where you need to be, but the boy gets easily distracted.” He shot them an apologetic wink. “Hang on, I’ll call him over—“

“Actually I don’t have an appointment. I’m here to see Eren.” He didn't phrase it as a question but more a subtle demand, leaning forward and speaking in the unnervingly low voice he knew many people had difficulty arguing with. Isabel perched on the bar stool beside him and smiled sweetly.

Levi was watching the boy so closely he didn’t miss the way something akin to recognition flickered in his eyes at Levi’s words. He quickly glanced from Isabel, to him, to Farlan, and back to him again. Then he was smiling again like he’d never not been. This time, it was less open friendliness and more business-like politeness.

“I’m not sure if Eren’s in today, but I’ll see what I can do for you. I won’t be a moment. Please, have a champagne on the house while you wait.” He gestured to a tray of pre-filled champagne flutes fizzing on the counter before excusing himself to slip out through a back door of the bar.

“Did you see that?” Farlan said, he glanced at Levi, expression serious. “Either he knows who you are and that you aren’t meant to be here, or people don’t just waltz in here and ask to see Eren without red flags going off.”

So he wasn’t imagining things.

“I saw.” Levi eyed the closest businessmen for any signs they’d heard the exchange.

“ _Or_ …” Isabel smacked her lips after taking a generous swig of her complimentary champagne. She swung her legs happily and grinned. “He’s pissed off you didn’t make an appointment and Eren is a very busy man.”

“Steady on the grog, sweets.” Farlan snatched the half-empty glass from his wife’s hand with a reprimanding frown. “We are kind of on gang turf so best keep your wits about you, yeah?”

“I’ll charm them. They wouldn’t hurt a girl.”

“Oh, babe…”

Levi rolled his eyes and looked away from the couple, turning his eyes upwards where the void at the centre of the building opened up past four additional levels to a glass ceiling. He was scanning his surroundings casually, taking in the impressive architecture without really focusing, when his eyes landed on a figure on the third floor on the balcony overlooking what had been the main dancing floor. It was a woman, tall and lean, dressed in a stylish black jumpsuit with a deep plunging V-neck. There was a blood-red scarf tied around her neck, a startling splash of colour against her pale skin and dark clothes. He couldn’t make out her features very well from so far down, but he could see dark eyes through a sleek side fringe and a small shiver crept down his spine when he realised they were trained on him.

“Good morning gentlemen – and Miss.”

Levi turned around as a new voice addressed them. The young man behind the counter was not Eren, instead Levi faced a tall blond boy with shiny, shoulder-length blond hair tied back in a half-up do. He had fair skin dusted with freckles, and delicate, attractive features with a long, straight nose and shrewd blue eyes. He’d put on at least a foot of height since Levi had seen him last, but Levi recognised him instantly.

“Sorry about the wait, but I’m afraid Eren isn’t available right now,” Armin continued, turning his smile directly on Levi now. His eyes hardened just the slightest bit. He didn't recognise him, Levi observed with amusement. “If you’d please follow me, I’d be happy to help you out however I can…” The blond stretched out an arm to gesture towards the back of the club. Levi didn’t trust any of the doors at the back of the building. Instead he smiled and leaned against the bar counter, making it abundantly clear he had no intention of moving.

“I probably should’ve expected to find you in whatever shit-show Eren’s got himself into,” He said, holding the Armin's gaze. Blue eyes widened almost imperceptibly before narrowing again in calculation. Levi waited. He could almost hear the cogs ticking in that prodigious head. It was obvious when it finally dawned on Armin because his eyes suddenly grew wide and his lips stretched into a huge, disbelieving smile.

“Shit – _Levi?_ ”


	4. Chapter 4

Armin lead the trio into what he assured them was his office and not some questionable interrogation room. He even pointed out the security cameras at Levi’s insistence, looking a combination of amused and impressed that he’d think to ask. The office was hardly spacious, but the room had been utilized well with what looked like mahogany bookshelves lined with leather-bound volumes and a heavy, intimidating desk in the centre. Low-lit lamps lining the walls gave the office a warm glow like a cosy, ancient library, but the sleek, contemporary leather couch and modern art hung over the flat screen television maintained a modern touch. Everything looked expensive and far too advanced for the personal office of a twenty-six year old man.

Armin invited them to take a seat on the couch and gestured to an abstract, blown-glass decanter sitting on one corner of his desk, half full of light amber liquid.

“Can I get you a drink?”

Levi, Farlan, and Armin collectively looked to Isabel who was burrowed into her husband’s side, her giggles muffled in his coat.

“...Never mind,” Armin said, rethinking the question.

It was strange seeing how Armin had changed after so many years. Not just physically, but also in his behaviour; he was more self-assured and collected now than he had been back then, but then again, six years was plenty of time for things to change. Levi got some relief in knowing Eren was even still friends with Armin; that even if a lot had changed, there were still some constants.

Levi had never been as privy to Eren’s personal life as Eren had been to his. He’d only ever met Armin of all Eren’s friends, although the boy did mention others and his sister occasionally. Never in too much depth, though. Meanwhile, even though he’d been seeing Eren for only two months, almost all of Levi’s friends had known about him. Eren even met both Mike and Hanji multiple times.  He only realised these things once they were over, and it was hard not to believe the boy might have seen their end coming long before Levi even had a reason to suspect. It was hard not to think he’d been holding himself back knowing there was no point getting too invested.

Levi was hardly still hung up over what had happened all those years ago, but he still had questions. Had Eren passed him in a busy street or they’d seen each other across a café, he wouldn’t have approached. Maybe he would have smiled politely and nodded a greeting, but they were over now and at peace with it. Or close enough. Circumstances here were different, though. He hadn’t run into Eren during some mundane activity that confirmed both were happy now and moving on with their lives; he’d seen his once-lover in an alley with a gun. That sort of adrenaline-fuelled circumstance was jarring and alarming enough to pull Levi back to six years ago so he was no longer looking at an unfamiliar adult man, but at his young lover in a dangerous situation. It dredged up all sorts of unresolved, long-dormant protective instincts that shouldn’t have had any place in their interactions anymore, but he couldn’t shake it off now. He needed to see this through. He needed to know Eren was safe and okay.

“You haven’t changed at all.” Armin’s voice was quiet and nostalgic. He leaned on the front of his desk and regarded Levi with a familiar smile, which only raised more questions in Levi’s mind. He assumed Armin must have known about the details of his break up with Eren, and given how hostile the latter had been on reuniting with Levi, he’d anticipated much the same wary behaviour from Armin. He wasn’t sure why he’d be acting so different from his friend.

“Can’t say the same about you,” Levi replied. Armin laughed and shrugged nonchalantly.

“When I heard Eren had red-flagged a guest from last night, I was a little surprised. He only gave a vague description and that he might come asking after him, and usually people who get red-flagged aren’t the type likely to come back.”

Well, wasn’t that ominous? What did red-flagging entail, and what would have happened to him had it not been Armin who’d come to meet him?

“How did you even get in here? That was an invite only event.” Armin looked perplexed, looking between the threesome lined before of him like he couldn’t quite piece together how such a motley crew could have come up with the subterfuge necessary to breach his security. Levi wasn’t sure either. He was long fucked by the time they’d drunkenly made their way to this side of town and didn’t even remember coming in. He looked to Farlan in question.

“Isabel flashed the bouncer,” the blond admitted, head ducked in shame. In stark contrast Isabel was sitting upright beside him, nodding proudly.

“ _Jesus_ , Isabel.”

“I didn’t think that still worked.” Armin looked dumbfounded but grudgingly impressed. “I’m going to have to have a word with our head of security...”

“Hear that, babe? They’re probably gonna chop him up into little bits now. That’s how gangsters do it.” Isabel’s eyes widened in shock and she turned to Armin for reassurance.

“Oh, we’re not a gang,” he hurried to clarify. “We’re a legitimate business.”

“That’s convincing. I intercepted your little buddy out the back of the club beating the living shit out of some guy; is that your legally-sanctioned way of handling corporate espionage?” Levi looked at Armin sceptically, waiting for the rebuttal, and Armin met his gaze with thinned lips. He might have a brilliant mind, but he'd never been as good a liar as Eren.

“You seem like the kind of guy who knows when to stop asking certain questions. Why don’t you do yourself a favour and tell me why are you actually here, Levi?” The unsubtle topic change was all the confirmation he needed on the ‘legitimacy’ of their business; the underlying threat was wholly unnecessary, but still a nice touch.  

“I want to know Eren is okay.” That sounded so vague and weak, but he wasn’t sure how to articulate why he _was_ here, if it could even be put into words. “That he’s not caught up in something he doesn’t want to be.”

The hardness left Armin’s eyes again and his shoulders relaxed. He was looking at Levi in that pitiable way again that he hated, and when he spoke, his voice was gentle, almost apologetic.

“Eren is happy and doing very well. And you of all people should know no one can make him do anything he doesn’t want to.” He said this with a fond smile and Levi couldn’t help smiling back ruefully because it was true. Of that, at least, he could have been certain.

“Can I ask why you’ve gone to such lengths?” Armin asked hesitantly. “It’s been six years…”

“People keep reminding me of that like I don’t already know.” Levi stood up, scowling, and Isabel and Farlan followed suit. He was just worried. Wasn’t he allowed to be worried? “It’s comforting to know that you’re with him still, cause that kid just has a way of getting himself in trouble. I just wanted to make sure he hadn’t got himself too deep.”

“You’re a good man—“

Levi let out a dry bark of laughter and shook his head.

“Yeah, yeah.” He didn’t want to hear some pseudo-apology from Armin; as if he didn’t feel pathetic enough coming all the way here just to ask after Eren. Eren who didn’t even want to speak to him in the first place. “Come on, guys. Let’s go.”

Farlan ushered Isabel out first and Levi was just about to follow when he hesitated at the door.

“You don’t hate me.”

Armin looked at him puzzled.

“No, of course not.”

“Cause Eren does, and I just figured, as his best friend…” Levi faded off when Armin started shaking his head.

“Eren doesn’t hate you, Levi. He never did and I don’t think he ever could.” Well that just dredged up more confusion. His bewilderment must have showed because Armin looked away and frowned, eyes searching the room as he tried to find the words to explain.

“He didn’t want you to get involved so he pushed you out. A little firmly too, from what I understand, because anything less wouldn’t have been enough. I’m not saying I agree with his methods, but I understand his motives and I can’t exactly fault them.”

“Are you talking about last night or six years ago?” Levi leaned against the doorframe, his hand still on the knob. Isabel and Farlan had wondered off out, the latter appreciating that Levi might want some privacy.

“Both, actually.”

So whatever Eren was entangled in now was what had broken them up six years ago? Levi frowned.

“What motives are those?”

Armin shifted uncomfortably against the desk. He crossed his arms, then uncrossed them again and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“It… really isn’t my place to say. The whole reason he ended things was because he _didn’t_ want you to find out and get mixed up in everything, after all.”

“I deserve to know,” Levi said, his voice firm. People usually listened to that voice – it was his last-warning voice – and he could see from the way Armin squirmed he wanted to too, but eventually his loyalty held and he shook his head resolutely.

“I know you do; the way things happened back then were hardly ideal, but also know that as a person who knows Eren’s side of the story as well, I can see why he didn’t mention it.”

“ _I was already involved._ ” With Eren. Maybe he was being hard-headed in refusing to entertain the notion that Eren really had acted in his best interests and his continued ignorance was for the best, but maybe no one understood just how absurd that sounded to him. No one knew how far gone he had been. Levi set his jaw and looked Armin dead in the eye.

“I really loved Eren. If he’d come to my house that day and told me to run away with him, I would have done it. I wouldn’t have thought twice. I would have dropped everything for that boy.” He’d never said it all aloud. He’d had plenty of time to think it over in his head and realise how crazy it sounded – especially for a two month old relationship – but damn if it wasn’t all true. Armin was watching him with wide eyes, just as astounded by the words coming out of his mouth as Levi was. Shit, he’d probably regret this as soon as he stepped out of the room.  
“So if you’re telling me Eren cut me loose because he thought I wouldn’t want to make such a commitment, you can understand why I’m not convinced. It wasn’t his place to decide what I was and was not ready to do.”

He didn't wait around for a response, and he got the impression one wasn't likely to come any time soon. Armin had still been staring at him dumbfounded when he closed the door behind him. He stalked out of the building with his expression set in such a fierce scowl, everyone gave him a wide berth, even the security guards. He found Farlan and Isabel waiting for him outside and he could tell they both read his mood because they didn’t badger him for details. Wordlessly, they took their place on either side of him, Isabel quietly latching onto his left arm and Farlan thumping his other shoulder in what could only be described as solidarity.

"I think today might be a good day for a movie marathon," Isabel suggested when they were halfway home. No one protested.


	5. Chapter 5

“I… I think we should stop seeing each other.”

Levi continued to stare at the ashtray before him, filled to overflowing with cigarette butts that spilled out onto the peeling surface of the garden table. That was over half a pack in there, and all from today. He must have shaved three years off his life in just the past hour, but it had been worth it for the sick surge of satisfaction he got watching the way Eren’s face had fallen to see him picking up bad habits again. He took a long drag from the cancer stick between his fingers before viciously snuffing it out on the top of the pile.

“Why?” He spat, more a demand than a question. Smoke spiralled out of his mouth like the word had burned him on its way out. He was glad Eren had decided to sit beside him instead of somewhere he’d be forced to see him properly. Even the hunch of his figure from the periphery of his vision was too much right now.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while—“

“That’s not what I asked.”

Was that supposed to make this better? That Eren had been wanting this for a while? How long? Not three days ago they’d been curled up in each other’s arms watching a movie. And two days before that they’d gone to the docks together. All Levi had been thinking about was Eren. Had Eren just been thinking about the right moment to do this?

“I – no. Sorry.” His voice wavered a bit. Levi couldn’t tell if it was from nerves or holding back tears. If Eren cried right now, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. He’d probably hold him. He wouldn’t be able to help himself, and he hated himself a little more for it. Still didn’t hate Eren, though.

“I’ve decided I don’t want a relationship. Or to be seeing anyone right now. It would be unfair to drag this out any longer when I know how committed you are while I’m still uncertain.” It sounded so recited Levi was certain Eren had probably drafted his whole speech before coming here. Probably got help from Armin and bounced back some answers to any questions to prepare himself for the worst. As if Levi would try interrogate him for wanting to break up. It hurt to imagine how much he must have prepared for this. How much he must have dreaded this. Dreaded having to see Levi today when Levi had only ever looked forward to seeing him.

“Why now? It’s been two months.”

“Two months isn’t long. I wanted to end this while it was still early.”

 _Still early._ Before what? Before they fell in love? Well, at least one of them dodged that bullet. Levi let out an involuntary huff of laughter and pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes, twisting them harshly until his eyes were stinging and raw. Another reason for the redness. Eren was quiet beside him, head bowed solemnly and hands folded in his lap like a scolded schoolboy waiting for his punishment.

Levi fumbled for a beer bottle and accidentally knocked over one of the empty ones, sending it tumbling off the table to shatter against the bricks. He saw Eren startle at the sudden noise, twisting his hands in his lap in agitation. A scolded schoolboy waiting to be dismissed. As nauseating as the circumstances felt, Levi still didn’t want him to go because once he left, he wouldn’t be coming back. His proximity might be painful right now, but it would be nothing compared to his absence.

They sat in silence for God knows how long. Levi chugging away, slowly working through his forty-pack, while Eren stewed in his corner of the bench like he would give anything to be anywhere but there.

Finally, inevitably, he broke the choking silence.

“I should go.”

Levi didn’t say anything. He gave a curt nod, to communicate that he’d heard, but otherwise focused on draining the last of his third bottle of beer.

Eren slowly rose from the bench, dusting the paint flakes off the back of his jeans, before tentatively circling around Levi’s back to make his way through the garage and out of the small rental property. He paused somewhere to Levi’s right and the older man tensed expectantly.

“This is probably very selfish of me, but can I message you?”

Levi forced himself to face Eren and he carefully schooled his expression into a cold, flat stare.

“No.”

Eren’s bottom lip trembled but he bit down on it and nodded. He curled his hands into fists at his sides and looked down, scuffing a ratty trainer in the dirt. Levi took the opportunity to take a long, final look at the boy.

“Goodbye, Levi.”

What a forlorn picture he painted.

“Goodbye, Eren. Take care now.”

Levi inspected the empty beer bottle in his hand quietly as Eren turned away, swishing the last remaining drops around the base absent-mindedly. He counted down slowly from ten, regulating his breaths in between. He closed his eyes at zero before pulling back his arm and hurling the glass bottle with all his force across the yard to shatter against the wall of his garden shed. He breathed out, listening to the tinker of glass shards filtering through scraggly pot plant leaves onto the pavement. Eren wouldn’t have gone far; he probably would have heard that.

Levi hoped he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Break-ups are FUN.


	6. Chapter 6

“It’s in the markets, Bella.”

“Well I don’t fucking see it, _Lee_.”

Levi rolled out from under Farlan’s car, wiping his grease-stained fingers on his jeans and massaging his temples. Giving Isabel directions was like trying to discipline a toddler; it was infuriating and likely to end in a tantrum with the blame ultimately thrust on him.

“As soon as you enter the markets,” he repeated slowly. “Follow the left wall all the way down. The stall is _literally_ built into the wall, you’re going to hit it eventually.”

“I’ve done two laps of the entire building and I haven’t seen this supposed cake stall once.”

“Where’s Farlan?”

“I don’t know.”

“Give your husband the phone, Isabel.”

“Give me _proper directions_ , Levi.”

How hard was it to follow a basic set of instructions? Levi tried to keep his temper in check as he coaxed Isabel to hand him to the more navigationally competent of the duo. Thank God he’d turned down their invite to join them that day; as if crowds weren’t bad enough, tailing the bickering couple would have been an absolute head ache. When he’d seen the grey clouds that morning threatening a heavy downpour, he’d known a peaceful day at home would be better than any soggy attempt at sight-seeing.

“Farlan’s looking at socks. He’s busy. I want cake!”

“For the love of—.” The sound of the doorbell cut off him off mid-sentence and Levi sat up, frowning. He had been looking forward to a quiet day with the house to himself and neither Isabel nor Farlan had mentioned any visitors. “Are you expecting someone?”

“What do you mean?” His cousin’s voice came through muffled by a mouthful of food. That was good; food would placate her temporarily.

“The doorbell just rang. Did you order anything?”

“Nope?”

“Hold on.”

Levi mopped the sweat off his face with a rag and washed his hands under the garden tap before making his way through the small house towards the front door. The bell rang again, more insistently. Whoever was out there must be getting soaked.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” _Jesus_. Levi half-jogged the remaining distance and unlocked the front door, ready to give the person on the other side a piece of his mind, rain or not. Whatever he’d been about to say immediately died on his lips.

“Isabel, I – I’ll call you back…”

“Who is it?”

Eren smiled at him tentatively through a curtain of wet bangs, his waterlogged parka dripping a puddle at his feet. He was wearing faded jeans, black boots, and a worn beanie under the hood of his coat. He looked so much like the boy from six years ago, Levi almost forgot to breath. Isabel’s questioning mumbles brought him back to reality.

“…Girl guides. They’re selling cookies.”

“What? In this storm? Levi—?” He cut off the call and let his hand fall to his side. A clap of thunder sounded immediately overhead and Eren winced, shoulders hunching meekly against the battering rain. He looked pitiful and wretched in the flickering glow of the porch light, like a stray seeking shelter but fully anticipating receiving a boot in his rear for his efforts. Eren had never liked thunderstorms.

“How did you get this address?”

Eren smiled guiltily at him, that stupid dimpled half-smile that could weasel him out of any mischief.

“It’s not like you were hiding.”

Levi left the door open and turned away, padding back into the house on bare feet. A bolt of lightning lit up the narrow hallway like a camera flash, engulfing him in the monstrous shape of Eren’s shadow surging up around him. Levi’s hackles instinctively rose; it railed against his instincts to turn his back on a stranger. Particularly those with a predilection for secreting weapons at their waist. He shook off the feeling; if Eren wanted him dead, he'd never have made it out of that alley.

“Take off your coat and shoes,” he threw over his shoulder. There was a low rumble of thunder forewarning the next clap, and Eren hastily shuffled into the house, slamming the door behind him.

Levi made his way into the kitchen and set about making himself a cup of tea. Eren slunk in a few seconds later, now free of his bulky coat and wringing his damp beanie in his hands as he quietly took in his surroundings. Levi pulled out a spare cup as an after-thought, filling the kettle and setting it to boil. He stood with his back to Eren and hands resting on the laminate countertop, fingers drumming a tuneless song as he waited. The kitchen stool squeaked painfully as Eren took a seat. The air was heavy and tense between then, crackling like the static filled air of the storm raging outside. The kettle went off.

“Nice place,” Eren ventured. Such an unassuming attempt at polite conversation seemed comically out of place given all the unspoken words that hung ponderous between them.

“It’s not mine.”

“Your cousins,” Eren corrected. So he’d spoken with Armin. Of course he had. Probably had to know that to track down the address after all.

Levi placed Eren’s tea before him and took his place standing on the opposite side of the bench. Eren hesitantly reached for the mug before letting out a relieved sigh and grasping it with both hands, warming himself gratefully. He was shivering. He looked up at Levi, peering through his mussed fringe while Levi met his gaze impassively. He got some satisfaction from the way Eren’s gaze rove covetingly over his body. He was dishevelled and dirty from working in the shed all day, his tank top stained and arms smeared with black grease, but it seemed Eren’s composure was limited to his workplace because his expression wasn’t hiding anything now.

Levi had been thinking about him a lot these past few days. Ever since he’d learned what he had from Armin, he’d been going over and over in his mind the events of that day six years ago and consolidating his memories with what he knew now. Eren had left him with barely an explanation and no means of closure, but the picture he’d gradually painted since then with the pieces he’d collected along the way were finally beginning to form a coherent image and he wasn’t entirely sure how he should feel about it. About Eren.

The kitchenette was quiet as the two of them waited. Eren stared into his steaming mug contemplatively as if collecting his thoughts and Levi watched him. Outside, the storm raged on. The scraggly branches of the backyard trees clawed at the window, the shrill sound of wood screeching against the glass eerie in the darkening house. The rain was a muffled background hum, deadening all other noise and enveloping them in a cottony cocoon of solitude. Levi wasn’t sure he wanted it, but perhaps it was needed and well overdue.

“My dad passed away two days before I broke up with you.”

Eren’s voice was quiet. Reflective.

“What?” Levi froze, his mug of tea halfway to his lips. “Why didn’t you say something?” That changed everything. He put his tea down and carded his hands through his hair before dragging them slowly down his face. He replayed the memory from that day over in his head and tried to remember if there had been any tells. Eren would have been mourning his father then, and when he’d asked to maintain contact, Levi had flat out shot him down. Of course he couldn’t have known and had simply being doing what he’d thought was right; he’d had enough experience with addictions to know sometimes cold turkey was best. Nonetheless, how alone must Eren have felt then? 

“That’s not why I broke things off,” He hurried to add. “Well, not entirely. Levi, listen.” Eren slid a hand halfway between them across the bench before seemingly thinking better of the move. He hesitated and left it there, tapping idly. “I…”

“Why are you here, Eren? Why now?”

Eren couldn’t meet his gaze. He retracted his hand and hunkered over again, letting the steam from his mug curl around his downturned face.

“Armin told me about your conversation. He told me about everything you said, and it made me really think about everything all over again.

“I thought back then a clean break was best. I couldn’t give you the explanation you wanted because it would mean exposing to you everything going on with my family which was the reason I was ending it with you in the first place. When my dad died, it was a reality check. I knew I’d be expected to be more involved in the family business from then on and we’d been dating for – what? – two months then?” Eren looked up at Levi for confirmation he hardly needed. “I liked you. A lot. Everything was going great, but at two months, any relationship feels like that. Either way, it wasn’t long enough to justify dragging you into my family business and I couldn’t just disclose everything to you either.” Eren shrugged helplessly and shook his head. Levi couldn’t see his face very clearly, but he could see his brow was pinched. He wasn’t sure if there was anything to say, so he remained quiet, leaning down to rest his elbows against the countertop and waiting for Eren to find his next words.

“What was I supposed to do?” Eren looked to him now. “I’m sorry for how things ended back then, but it seemed like the only and obvious solution. I’m sorry for leaving you like that and not giving a proper reason, and this probably sounds so stupid, but I did do it for you.”

You should have told me, was what Levi wanted to say, and I would have been able to tell you it didn’t matter. But of course he knew that was pointless; he understood why Eren had done it, and he couldn’t fault him. Plus he'd only been twenty at the time.

“Why are you telling me all this now?” It seemed a little late for explanations.

“Because you know now. I always hated that you never got a proper reason and I couldn’t give it to you, but since you walked into The 104th and basically saw everything for yourself, there was no need to keep it from you anymore. Also…” Eren tugged his bottom lip between his teeth and his eyes watched Levi’s expression carefully. Not that he’d see anything there. “Armin told me everything you said the other day and I couldn’t… some things made me think. How could you be so certain that you back then would have accepted me once everything was in the open?”

Ah, the moment of truth.

Levi couldn’t help the wry chuckle that wrung out of him. He straightened up and rocked back on his heels, Eren’s puzzled look making his smile grow wider.

“I don’t know what you’re mixed up in, Eren, but I can guarantee it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Eren cocked his head to the side questioningly.

“Ahh, shit.” The older man covered his face with his hands and tried to figure out how best to approach this. He could feel his face burning so when he spoke, it was through his hands. “How many times had you seen my body by then?” It was more a rhetorical question, nonetheless he heard Eren splutter, caught off guard. “What I mean to say is surely you of all people given your…” Levi sought the right word. “— _Background_ , would have noticed.”

“Noticed what?” But Levi was already peeling off his tank top. “Levi…” Eren’s voice was reproachful, clearly thrown by the situation. He let the garment fall to the kitchen floor and stepped back so Eren could properly see his torso, lifting his arms slightly from his sides all the better to show off every inch of ink on his skin. Eren’s eyes skittered across his body hesitantly - like he wanted to look but wasn’t sure if he was reading the signals right. Levi watched his expression carefully for any signs of recognition or realisation. They weren’t anything he hadn’t seen before long ago, but perhaps his memory needed refreshing.

“Come on,” he prodded when none seemed forthcoming. “They’re not from anywhere around here, but surely you can recognise gang tattoos?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A warning for sassual themes in this chapter. It's very vague and inexplicit, though, and focuses more on the sensual side, but just for those of you who'd prefer a prewarning, it's all in that final paragraph.

Eren went bug-eyed and he sat up straight. Apparently not.

“ _Gangs_?”

Levi couldn’t help laughing at Eren’s affronted tone. He sounded like a scandalised suburban housewife rather than someone neck deep in ‘ _gangs’_ himself.

“ _You_?” Eren’s mouth opened and closed as he processed the information. “Since when?”

“Long before you,” he assured. He stretched his arms out in front of him, inspecting the deep blue tendrils snaking down to his wrist. He gave a defeated shrug and smiled wanly. “That was a long time ago, though.” He made to bend over to retrieve his shirt but Eren’s voice rang out urgently, stopping the motion midway.

“May I?” Levi looked up, confused. Eren blinked rapidly and gestured vaguely towards him. “…See them, I mean.”

Another shrug.

“…Sure.”

Eren tapped the countertop twice in deliberation before slowly standing up and making his way around the counter. The two men watched each other warily, like fighters squaring off before a match; Levi didn’t move his body but he turned his head as he tracked Eren’s movements. It was an odd sort of awareness of the other, the tension stretched thin and grower tauter as the space between them narrowed. Neither could be sure what to expect when it finally snapped, but it paid to be guarded.

Eren met Levi’s eyes uncertainly when he drew close enough. Self-conscious, he ducked around to start his inspection from behind.

“I’ve never seen many gang tattoos. Not enough to be able to pick them out from others.”

“That’s hard to believe.”

“I can recognise most of the major bikie gangs’ and those of the biggest gangs around here, but if I’m close enough to see them, the circumstances are probably not the type under which I can properly inspect them…”

Levi clenched his hands into fists at his sides. He stared at Eren’s abandoned mug on the counter top for lack of anything else to watch. The house was dark now, the sun having set long ago, but he hadn’t turned on any lights. He almost wanted to suggest it – surely it would be easier for Eren too – but this small space in the kitchen lit only by the slices of streetlight filtering through the wide window suited him just fine. The thunderstorm still raged outside but the constant thrum of rain overhead was muted and relaxing. A rhythmic white noise that echoed through the otherwise still house. It was dark and private and his muscles felt strangely relaxed even though he could feel Eren right behind him, his eyes crawling down his spine. He rolled his shoulders and neck absentmindedly and his ears pricked at the sound of the sharp intake of breath behind him. His head turned to the left automatically, straining to hear more.

“I asked you about them once.” Eren’s voice was little more than a whisper, laced with nostalgia. “If they meant anything. You told me you just liked the way they looked.” Levi felt fingertips ghost along the edge of his right shoulder blade and he shivered involuntarily, feeling goose bumps rise across his flesh. He wondered he Eren noticed. Eren was tracing the curve of the feathered wing that extended halfway down his upper arm, his touch faint enough to be reverent. Intimate.

“Gang background is a hard topic to address in casual conversation,” Levi responded with a wry laugh. Eren snorted.

“I’ll say.” 

Levi felt more than heard Eren make his way around him, fingertips still trailing down his right arm. He tilted his head in his direction but didn’t look up, watching Eren’s socked feet pad silently on the cold tiles.

“When would you have told me, if ever?”

An excellent question; one Levi had entertained for hours while they were dating and months after they were not. Would they have fallen apart sooner had he mentioned it? He had thought so. One part of him had been relieved he hadn’t let the information slip and gotten to spend the extra time – however brief – with Eren. The other part was certain it would have been better if he’d disclosed it even if it had ended things sooner – at least he’d have a clear reason for why it didn’t work out between them. Now he wondered if it would have been all the affirmation Eren needed to keep them together.

“Any day then. I was biding my time for the right moment.” Levi looked up at Eren, lifting his chin to stare directly into the younger man’s face. He was standing right in front of him now, barely a foot of space between them. Too close for a casual inspection. Too close to be looking at his tattoos. Eren met his gaze, green eyes flickering between his as if trying to read what he was thinking. A shard of streetlight split his features in two, a jagged fissure from his right temple across his face.

“How unlucky,” he breathed, and Levi knew he was thinking exactly the same thing – that had he known back then, things might have turned out very differently. His hair was drying now, beginning to curl at the tips to frame his face in a messy, wavy mop. His jaw was more defined than it had been, now sporting a careful maintained five o’clock shadow, and his shoulders wider, his body more built. Older, bigger, wiser; an air of dangerous watchfulness about him. A tense, wild curl to his proud posture, and a honed vigilance to his gaze. But it was still his Eren. Hardened by the years and shaped by experience, but in a way that also created more between them.

“This…” Eren hesitated, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. “Excuse me if I am being a bit presumptuous, but can I ask if you’re seeing anyone right now?”

Levi had half been expecting it, but the question still caught him by surprise. His eyebrows rose and he let out a disbelieving huff of air. Eren was attempting to look unfazed, but Levi could read the uncertainty in his eyes. He _was_ being presumptuous. He was being audacious and bold, bordering on insolent, but _fuck_ if that lack of brain-to-mouth filter and bluntness wasn’t one of the things Levi loved most about this boy.

“No.”

Levi saw Eren swallow. Saw his Adam’s apple bob along the column of his throat. He saw the hopeful look in his eyes as he hesitantly edged closer. Levi didn’t move. Didn’t make it any easier for him. He’d done the chasing all this time, given and given, pushed and pushed. Now he was going to milk it with slow, burning self-indulgence. He back out from Eren’s reach but he didn’t look away, slowly inching back while beckoning the other to follow with a defiant tilt of his chin. He continued until he felt the chill of the pantry door on his bare back and pressed against it solidly, waiting for Eren to close the gap between them. The taller man crowded into his space, splaying his hands on either side of Levi at waist level and towering over his frame, a dark silhouette against the dusky blue of the kitchen. So close he could feel the heat of his body against his bare chest. The hairs along his arm pricked and stood on end with anticipation. The tantalizing brush of Eren’s sweater against his skin felt like static. His breath came laboured and deep even though they hadn’t done anything. Eren’s scent clouded his mind, distantly familiar but with the sharp definition of an unfamiliar cologne, and he could help but breathe it in, closing his eyes.

Eren’s lips were millimetres from his, his breath warm and ragged with desire. Levi moved his head slightly, just enough to let their lips brush. Just enough to tease. He could tell Eren was holding himself back, waiting for the final go-ahead. He opened his eyes just enough to meet his gaze. Hold them. Challenge them. _Wait for it_.

Levi let their noses bump. Turned his head to brush his lips against the stumble lining Eren’s jaw. Pressed a kiss the hollow of his neck just above where his clavicles met. Another on his Adam’s apple. Breathed hot and torturous up the side of his neck. Eren shivered. His arms, supporting his weight against Levi’s front trembled with distracted restraint. Levi reached up with his left hand seized a fistful of Eren’s hair. He jerked his face down to his none too gently and slowly, deliberately, tugged his lower lip between his teeth.

When they finally kissed, it was slow and chaste. Restrained and cautious. They had known each other once, but this was about figuring out who they were now and how much remained the same. Eren’s arms around him were both urgent and indulgent, his touch reverently gentle but underlined by a desperation that made him cling to him with all his strength. They moved to Levi’s bed, which thankfully wasn’t far. A double mattress that occupied the living room floor in front of the kitchen. They fell in a desperate jumble of half-removed clothes, barely registering the journey it took to get there. Eren’s skin was still clammy and damp from the rain but he felt so hot and perfect. Flashes of lightning lit up the room. Eren was a shadow above him, lit up by white light, but he was warm and solid and real. When the thunder rolled, Levi held him closer. He pulled him against him, into him, like he would never let go. His nails dug deep into the others back, undoubtedly leaving marks, but that only seemed to thrill Eren more so Levi clawed him without restraint. He left long, red lines, possessive and desperate down his back as they rocked in tandem to the storm, gasps and broken moans lost in the drumming of rain against the windows and rumbling overhead, and when Levi sunk his teeth into the juncture of Eren’s neck, he gasped and pressed in deep, holding him almost painfully tight in his shaking arms. Breathless and exhausted, they fell asleep where they lay; an indistinguishable tangle of limbs and blankets oblivious to the rest of the world. The storm raged on.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thing I like most about this fic is the fact that it's currently my only ongoing multi without chapter titles because chapter titles are a BITCH.

“Levi.”

Levi groaned and rolled over.

“ _Levi_.”

A hand shook him, not urgent enough to wake him fully, but rouse him just enough to blink blearily at the shape hovering over him, haloed by the cool blue glow of the breaking dawn.

“I’m going now. I have to get back to work.”

“What? What time is it?” Levi made to manoeuvre himself up onto his elbows only for Eren to gently push him back down into the tangled mess of his sheets.

“No, no, don’t get up. Go back to sleep. I just wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t wake to an empty bed.”

“It’s late. I’ll drive you. Hang on, just let me get my coat—“

Eren laughed softly and cut him off with a press of soft lips against his.

“You’re going to need a little more than a coat. Don’t worry, I called a car. Go back to sleep now.”

“Mmh.”

Levi noticed Eren hesitate a moment, but he was beginning to drift off again.

“I’ll… talk to you later, yeah?”

Were he a little more lucid, Levi would have noticed the hopeful uncertainty underlying the question. But all he heard was the question, and that was enough to make him smile sleepily.

“’Course.”

Levi wouldn’t remember Eren’s relieved little exhale in the morning, or the tender brush of fingers through his hair. 

He felt lips press against his forehead, and he hummed contently, asleep again before Eren had even closed the front door behind him.

 

 

“I mean,” Farlan began, in a tone that warned the beginning of a conversation that was inevitable and necessary, but Levi begrudged all the same. “I figured, what with you crashing in our living room for a couple months, a man of your age and singular disposition would have particular needs that would need seeing to. I resigned myself for the very real possibility of expecting some unexpected company on the occasional night. I was fine with it – I understand, I was single once too.”

Levi groaned into his coffee.

“Jesus, Farlan, just get on with it.”

Isabel had left for work before he’d awoken, blessedly leaving him to face interrogation by only Farlan that morning. They’d been delayed returning home yesterday evening because of the thunderstorm, which was a small mercy because heaven forbid what they might have walked in on in the middle of their living room floor any earlier, but they still had arrived before Eren had left to catch the tell-tale tangle of limbs in Levi’s sheets that counted too many to belong to only himself, and they’d seen enough to deduce who the extra ones belonged to.

“A mob boss!”  Farlan exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm. He flung his arms out, spraying the countertop with soap suds, and fixed Levi with a blatantly artificial smile. “And to think my ma had reservations about me marrying a baker.”

“I’m not marrying him. And it’s Eren, not some backstreet thug.”

Farlan’s smile dropped like an anvil.

“Except he _is_ a backstreet thug. He’s a thug, Levi, you _literally_ found in a backstreet.” He enunciated every syllable, pinching his thumb and forefinger together for emphasis. “With a gun. Probably about to blow some motherfuckers brains out.”

“We’ve all been there.”

Farlan’s pale eyes narrowed.

“He was in my _house_ , Levi. _My house_. You want to fuck with mobsters, you do it far away from Isabel, you hear me?”

Levi looked up at that, eyes flashing.

“I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.”

Farlan exhaled and let his head drop forward onto his chest.

“I know, but—“

“He just appeared. I didn’t give him the address, I didn’t invite him. Trust me Farlan, I would never do that.”

Levi watched the blond drum the edge of the sink with a whisk.

“I’ll be out of your hair next week,” Levi continued. “I’ll continue my questionable dalliances far away from either of you.”

Farlan shot him a look sidelong.

“You’re not in our hair, you ass. Stay here for as long as you need and more, you know we’re not trying to get rid of you. I just – so you _are_ continuing this…?” Farlan waved the whisk vaguely with an uneasy expression.

“I dunno,” Levi shrugged and looked down into his coffee. “I guess. I want too.”

“Why?”

Levi shot Farlan an exasperated look.

“I’m serious. Why?” Farlan abandoned the pretence of washing the dishes and came to face Levi from the other side of the kitchen counter. “You liked Eren six years ago, fine, fair, but this guy is not that guy. They are two guys. Different ones.”

“They’re not. He’s not.”

“Oh really now? You gathered that over a cup of tea and a quick fuck last night?” Farlan closed his eyes. “Okay, sorry. But seriously. The whole point of continuing to see someone is because the pros outweigh the cons. Sure, you like him, but the con in this situation is the big ass fuck-truck _gang_ he leads down the other side of Northbridge. That’s a big con. Dare I say a deal breaker to any sane man.”

“He owns the 104th with his sister and Armin. They run a tight, neat ship and don’t mess around with anything they can’t handle. It’s nothing like the messy shit-shows back home, they have a solid front and sturdy ties; you can just tell from one look around the place.”

Farlan watched him with an unusual scrutiny.

“…If I didn’t know better, it would almost seem like you want to be a part of it.”

Levi opened his mouth to retort, then realised he had nothing to say in his defence. Farlan’s brows rose and his lips thinned.

“Looks like I don’t know better after all. Do you really miss it?”

“Yes,” Levi breathed. He closed his eyes, the relief of finally saying it out loud overshadowing the shame he should have felt for it. Farlan and Isabel had left that life behind and hadn’t looked back; they’d settled down and gotten new jobs and a new start and done so with such resolute certainly Levi had felt like he could never confess how he really felt. Seeing their blissful domesticity these past few weeks while his apartment was renovated had only cemented that fact; he was clearly alone in his pining. The mundane routine of this life didn’t suit him. He missed the thrill of danger, of the chase, of the challenge of that past life. The excitement of survival and the triumph of carving out your own niche and making a name for yourself. The respect, the awe, the deference he’d earned. He missed it.

“You’re having a midlife crisis,” Farlan concluded resolutely. He nodded solemnly to himself, satisfied by this diagnosis. “It’s like those old men who buy pricey sports cars and do crazy, reckless things to feel alive again. Why don’t you do that? Go buy a Lamborghini or something. Why do you have to bed a gangster?”

Farlan looked at him, and his lips twitched into a wry smile. He sighed and rubbed his fingertips over his chin, then wiped off the dampness with the back of his hand.

“I saw it,” he admitted. Levi looked up at him in question. “Not gonna lie and say all this seems like it’s out of the blue. How shitty of a friend do you think I am to not even notice when my mate’s acting out? You’ve never been the same since we left East.” He rubbed at his nose, sniffed. “I hate to preach, but bro, you’re a grown man. You do whatever you want to at the end of the day, and don’t think I don’t know you’ve been waiting for a chance like this for years now. But it all comes back to Eren.”

The conversation had taken an odd turn. Farlan had flipped from vehemently against to, well, whatever this was.

“I don’t…” Levi squinted. “What does that mean?”

“Just consider why you’re so gung-ho about him so suddenly. And I’m saying this in your best interests because I personally think if you’d met him under any other circumstances, you’d be a lot less willing to rekindle the flame, so to speak. Is it Eren you want, or a taste of his lifestyle?”

Levi was quiet. Of course, under any other circumstances, he wouldn’t have gone after Eren like he had now _because_ he wouldn’t have been concerned of what he’d gotten himself into. Any other circumstances wouldn’t have made him worry so much.

“Are you really sticking up for Eren right now?” He joked, because the way Farlan was looking at him now was making him want to slide off the kitchen stool and hide under the counter. His best friend had been his voice of reason for long enough for him to take any of his concerns seriously, even in regards to his personal feelings.

“It tastes like fresh shit in my mouth, but buddy, look at what I do for you.”

“So what are you prescribing?”

“Don’t rush into this. If you want back into that game, I’m not here to tell you otherwise because you’re in the best position to judge for yourself what you do and don’t want. Just… do you want Eren _too_ is what I’m trying to get you to question. Don’t enter this ‘thing’ with him half-hearted if it’s just going to fuck up because that’s going to make a lot more go sour than just a relationship. His not a twenty year-old kid anymore that you’re casually dating. His the head of some nasty shit.”

Levi pushed his empty mug of coffee towards his friend and rested his chin on his crossed arms.

“I hate it when you get serious,” he muttered. Farlan shrugged sombrely.

“You don’t just keep me around for my smashing good looks.”


	9. Chapter 9

 “…What?” Eren looked up at Levi, mouth comically agape. He circled around his desk and leaned forward on his hands, frowning down at his desk. He looked up again. “You want to _work_ here?”

“I want to work for _you_ ,” Levi clarified, because that was a very important detail.

Eren, who had clearly thought this meeting would be to discuss – if even that – matters far less serious than this, looked understandably blindsided. Levi watched his expression flicker from contemplative frowns to uncertain glances in his direction as he struggled to decide whether this was an issue that should be approached from the perspective of the man who was sleeping with him, or as the leader of the 104th.  

“We’re going to need your qualifications.”

Both Eren and Levi were surprised when another voice interrupted the stalemate. The dark-haired girl Levi had spied the second day he’d come to the 104th watching him from several floors up now strode into the spacious office. Today she was dressed in a sleeveless black dress with a mandarin collar that fitted her as snugly as a sheath on a dagger. Black heels heralded her approach proudly, and as she walked past Levi without even sparing him a glance, he saw the soles were splashed crimson. She seemed a fan of the black and red combination.

“Mikasa, were you eavesdropping?” _Ah._ Levi put two and two together. _So this was the sister._

“A necessary evil given the shit you often manage to get yourself involved in.” Mikasa threw a file down on Eren’s desk and, shooting her brother a reproachful look, turned to appraise Levi, arms crossed and dark gaze shrewd. “Qualifications?” She prompted again, eyebrow arced. “If you think sleeping with my brother was going to afford you any advantage in job-hunting, rest assured, I’m here to ensure otherwise. What makes you think you’d be any benefit to us, Levi Ackerman?”

He supposed the way she said his full name with such emphasis was supposed to forewarn him she’d run all the necessary background checks already, but the question itself betrayed how fruitless it had been.

“I’m a good fighter. Was the best over East a couple years back – not sure how much that stands anymore – but that’s enough to pretty confidently infer I’d be the best over here.”

Mikasa’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally but she looked amused. Levi wasn’t surprised; he’d heard enough men grossly exaggerate their prowess to impress others to have developed a scepticism of his own. He wasn’t one of them, though. He never understood how it could possibly benefit him to lie about his abilities because these sorts of conversations usually only ended in the extent of those untruths being – rather humiliatingly – exposed. He didn’t need to lie when the straight facts spoke for themselves.

“Over East? You from there, originally?”

Levi nodded. He kept his eyes on Mikasa and his expression carefully blank. She seemed to know what she was doing and he was willing to hedge a bet this was her area of expertise.

“Then,” She continued, “If you really are as good as you say, surely you wold have encountered the Cleaner during your work there?”

Levi’s poker face wavered as the question struck surprisingly close to home, yet also completely missed the mark. Mikasa seemed to interpret his hesitation as a sign of him being caught in a lie.

“You’re telling me you could beat him in a fight?”

Levi pursed his lips to hide his smile. He clasped his hands behind his back and adjusted his position, tilting his head to the side to watch his interrogator with lazy amusement.

“An awkward question.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

“Unless in this hypothetical you would pit me against myself?” He saw her eyes widen with the realization of what he’d just confessed, but he continued on as if it were not such a big deal. “What variable would you be changing? The me now fighting the Cleaner from eight years ago? Or my old resources against whatever you could provide me with now…?” He let the question hang unfinished and cocked his head politely as he waited for a response. Mikasa blinked once, twice. She frowned and looked him over again, properly this time. As an actual, viable candidate and potential threat, and not her brothers latest conquest grovelling for favours.

“You are--?”

“ _You’re_ _the Cleaner?!”_ Eren blurted, slamming his hands on his desk. Levi shot him an annoyed look at the outburst and Mikasa looked equally peeved to have her interview intruded on. “Mikasa, he’s the Cleaner!” Eren rounded on his sister, pointing as Levi as if she might have missed the blatant confession Levi had just made. “Levi, what the fuck?!” He turned back, frowning. The inevitable part after the big reveal where he got offended that he wasn’t notified first.

“I was going to get to that today, obviously; I just didn’t anticipate she would be joining.”

“I screen interviewees, that’s _my_ job,” This second part Mikasa aimed pointedly at her brother. “You should have been directed to me for this anyway.” Mikasa turned to Eren’s desk and opened the file she’d brought in for him before, leafing through the sheets inside casually. “Take a seat, Levi. Please.”

Levi did as he was directed, though not without amusement. She was doing a relatively good job of regaining her composure after that bomb, but she wasn’t fooling Levi. She pretended to read something in the file, but it was obviously to buy her time to process new revelation. She’d just brought that file in after all, Levi know there was nothing for her to read in there.

“We’re finally getting started, are we?” He asked. The expensive leather sighed as he settled into his seat, and his crossed an ankle over his knee, hands folded on his lap. Being grilled was a situation he’d encountered enough times to by now be comfortable in, and as much as he respected Eren and his sister for the neat business they were running, there was no question this was an unforeseen surprise and they were out of there depth. He had the upper hand here.

The phone on Eren’s desk rang. Mikasa paused to check the caller ID, then glanced at Eren and Levi before answering it.

“Hey. Yeah.” She turned away. Her tone was quiet, but comfortably casual. Levi watched the tense set of her shoulders. They slowly relaxed as she nodded along to what the person on the other end was saying. Someone she was familiar with. Someone she didn’t have to greet formally with an introduction or explain why she was answering Eren’s phone.

Levi looked at Eren who was watching her expression carefully. He saw something on Mikasa’s face and smiled. He also relaxed. Levi glanced at the door; it was a heavy, thick, rich wood that was what a private office door should be made of. Certainly not something someone could eavesdrop through, yet how had Mikasa listened in on their conversation before?

A bug?

But that had been no surprise to Eren. He wasn’t surprised when Mikasa had come in knowing what they’d been discussing, only annoyed and perhaps a little betrayed. Aside from Mikasa, only one other person would likely have the clearance to access to such a thing.

“Yeah, thanks, okay. Mhmm. Thanks.” Mikasa put down the phone and turned back to him. He was unsurprised to see her looking collected and resolved once again.

“Armin always listen in on your conversations like this?” He guessed.

“Why are you here?” Mikasa asked, ignoring his goading. “Why did you leave East?”

“Finished my work there.” Levi shrugged. “The nature of my position wasn’t the type that I could find other employment in the area without being expected to jeopardize the privacy of my previous client. I don’t like to do that.”

“Finished your work?” Eren jumped in now. “What work was that?”

Levi smiled.

“Clearly, you’ve heard of some of it. Of me.”

“What was your position?” Mikasa asked.

Another awkward question.

“I did what I was asked to. I sorted out messes, resolved issues, and made problems go away.” He looked up at Mikasa innocently. “I cleaned.”

“How does a person in the kind of business you were in ‘finish’ work?”

“I fulfilled the terms of my contract.” Mikasa looked intrigued.

“So you work on contract.” Levi gave a half shrug and Mikasa nodded. “See, loyalty is a pretty important thing here. Every one of the people in our employment have been personally vouched for by members of our innermost circle. You can understand why a man who simply moves on to a new place after ‘fulfilling the terms’ of his last contract strike us as a little changeable or fickle.”

“You want loyalty until death?” Neither Mikasa or Eren had to answer that outright. “That’s fine. That is the term of my contract.”

“Then your last employer…?”

“Died. Old age,” he hastened to add. It was nothing he could have prevented himself. It was no blemish on his record. “My loyalty was solely to him, not his business or his family. Before he died he acknowledged that and understood I wouldn’t hang around. His son took over and I took off. Yeah, other groups wanted me, but I couldn’t accept. They were all rivals after all, and while I didn’t work for that family any more, I didn’t want to affiliate with anyone who’d want to try and learn about them from me. I couldn’t hang around, so I moved here with my family.”

“Why do you want to work for us?”

“For Eren. I like the look of this place. It looks orderly, neat, and interesting. I think you could benefit from my expertise too.”

The phone rang again and Levi scowled.

“Just tell him to come in already if he’s going to Big Brother us from the control room anyway.”

Mikasa ignored him and answered the phone and Levi waited for the instructions to finish, tapping his foot impatiently.

“What do you mean you’ll work for Eren?” She relayed, not putting down the receiver. They took their sweet time picking up on that detail.

“Exactly what I said. He’s the boss, isn’t he?”

“Technically, Eren co-owns the 104th, yet you specifically corrected me when I said ‘us’.”

“With my previous employer, my contract was solely to him and not to serve his family or business. My contract in this situation would be between Eren and I; an ‘until death’ clause gets a little complicated when there are too many parties involved.” Mikasa was shaking her head before he’d even finished.

“That won’t do. Firstly, I handle all our agents, so if you had to answer to anyone it would be to me, secondly, we all have equal standing. We can’t go around granting certain partners having privileges over the others.”

“I’m a privilege?” Levi put a hand to his chest and looked coy. “Aw shucks.” He saw Eren try to hide a smile, but Mikasa looked unimpressed by the display.

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid that’s not how we—“

Levi held up a finger to halt her next words.

“Before you refuse, I want you to really consider if you’re willing to turn me out over something as petty as envy.”

“This _isn’t_ because—“

“Don’t you trust Eren?” Levi interrupted. Mikasa’s brows stitched together at the unexpected question. “Look, I’m just being practical,” he continued. “My services don’t do well when divided between loyalties, so I learned a while back to commit only to a single person. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be able to work with anyone else, just that, should push come to shove, there would be no confusion over whose side I was on. That ultimately shouldn’t even present an issue given you all intend to work together all happy family; this place doesn’t strike me as a double-dealing sort of set-up.”

Levi could tell Armin was talking into Mikasa’s ear. Her face looked impassive, gaze set on Levi, but her mind was processing Armin’s analysis and advice. He glanced at Eren who was looking at him with a ponderous frown, chewing his lip and drumming on the desktop with his fingers.

“The only reason the fact I answer to Eren would ever pose an issue would be in a circumstance where you’d all be pitted against one another…” Levi leaned back in his chair and shrugged. He knew those parting words would have them all thinking; that wasn’t a situation any of them would ever confess to fearing, yet to refuse Levi now would be to question that faith. He’d said his part; the rest was up to them to resolve.

Armin seemed to instruct Mikasa to put him on speaker, because she pressed a button on the phone and turned it around to face him.

“Hello Levi, nice to see you again so soon. Didn’t expect it to be under these circumstances.”

“Could have been worse.”

Armin’s light laughter crackled through the speaker.

“Certainly.”

“Did you have a question for me?”

“Right, yes. My apologies. I wanted to clarify some details about the termination clauses for your supposed contract. See, you say your last contract concluded because your employer passed away of natural causes. How would that translate to Eren’s case?”

Levi looked quizzically at the phone, then up at Mikasa who was watching him with interest, hands on her hips like a schoolteacher disciplining an unruly pupil.  

“Well, Eren’s younger than me,” he ventured. “…I doubt he’s going to die of old age before I retire like my last boss.”

“So you are vowing your loyalty to us – sorry, to Eren – until you are killed in the line of service or until you retire?”

Levi nodded. Eren was watching him, and while Levi couldn’t exactly read his expression, he met his gaze levelly. Mikasa relayed to Armin that he’d nodded.

“What if, and I’m posing this as a hypothetical purely for the sake of thoroughness, Eren is killed before you retire?”

Levi didn’t understand why that was a question that needed to be asked; the answer seemed obvious.

“Then the circumstances should be such that I wouldn’t be far behind.”

If anyone got past him to Eren, then they’d presumably have to kill him too.

“What if you weren’t there at the time?” Armin persisted. “Or you somehow survived?”

Levi glared at the light blinking cheerfully on the phone imagining it was Armin there instead.

“The terms of my contract are until death, dismissal, or retirement,” He said slowly and deliberately. “Where is the confusion?”

The room was silent for a moment as the weight of his words were processed.

“I see,” Armin said quietly. “That concludes my questions. Thank you.”

Mikasa took the cue and turned the phone off speaker. She watched him impassively, the only tell of her inner conflict being the tense _tap, tap, tap_ of her forefinger against the phone receiver. Eren looked between the terse staredown and sighed.

“Okay, give us a moment to discuss this. Could you excuse us for a moment?” He asked, steering his sister towards the door by her shoulder. Levi shrugged nonchalantly.

“Take your time; I’d hate to pressure you into a decision you’re not comfortable with. I’m sure I can find plenty of work elsewhere around here once word gets out I’m in town and out of retirement…”

Eren spared him an exasperated eye-roll for his dramatics but it was Mikasa's unexpected snort that caught his attention. She shot him a look before they left the room that was triumphantly unfazed enough to show she’d called his bluff.


	10. Chapter 10

It didn’t take long for Levi to pick up what made the 104th tick. It was a clean set-up divided into three sections of specialized groups, each lorded over by one of the head trio. Section one, Levi learned, was overseen by Eren and dubbed his ‘Rogues’. They dealt with on-field work like infiltration and espionage that necessitated a degree of adaptability and discretion. Section two , AKA the ‘Garrison’, were Armin’s brains trust – processing whatever intelligence the Rogues collected and then utilizing it however they saw fit, whether it be filing it away for later use, or implementing it in further assignments. Lastly was section three – Mikasa’s ‘Titan’s’ – a trio of deadly soldiers hand-picked from the 104th’s security and their further training overseen by Mikasa herself. They handled the dirty work that couldn’t be entrusted to the regular security thugs and required a degree of what Mikasa ominously called ‘finesse’. They were together what Levi had been back in the day; they cleaned, and they didn’t leave a trace.

Once he had the basics down, it became clear how the three sections functioned in unison. Everyone had their speciality, and the seemingly innocuous set-up of the 104th that Levi had seen when he’d visited the second time revealed itself for the carefully calculated system that it was. Nothing was left to chance, and every maneuvre had a purpose.

As soon as you walked into outwardly legitimate the 104th’s base, you were greeted by either a young man named Jean or an energetic brunette named Sasha. Under the guise of casual small-talk, they would wring every drop of information that they could of you, which they’d immediately send off to be verified as soon as you had stepped away. They were trained to interact with people from a variety of backgrounds and give that impression of pure business with a friendly front. Top-tier hosts and greeters, but with a deadly razor edge.

The third member of their trio was a tall, freckled girl with a terminal sneer named Ymir who’d step in to swiftly strip you of your coat – which actually entailed discretely searching your body for any concealed weapons or wires by subtly frisking you in a way you’d never know you were even being screened. You’d probably tip her for it too. Ymir was very good at her job, Levi learned. It was rare for anyone to ever clue in to what her real role was, and those that did generally had been expecting it because they had something to hide. She was good at handling those types of folks too, by which Levi meant dragging them off to a backroom to be introduced to Mikasa’s cronies and their ‘finesse’. This introductory trio made up Eren’s group of ‘Rogue’s’, but getting past them was only the first hurdle.

Levi had already been to the 104th’s bar, but he should have known there was more to the set-up than a nice watering hole for the clients to refresh. Any information scavenged by Eren’s Rogue’s went directly to either Connie – the bubbly, dark-skinned bartender Levi had met the other day – or Marco. By the time you’d been led over to the dusky, jazz-lounge inspired corner bar, The Garrison had probably pulled up every scrap of information available of you on any database created, and it was their job to figure out everything that _wasn’t_ on record. They each had their methods, but it helped that alcohol loosened tongues and dulled inhibitions.

Connie had the type of open, companionable demeanour that seemed to be a proviso in the bartending occupation. He made you forget where you were for the moment, and with a few sympathetic expressions and anecdotes of his own, he’d have you spilling your woes about how your wife left you for your relationship counsellor before you could remember again.

Marco’s techniques were a little more insidious and alarming, to Levi at least. He was a psychology major or something, Levi had heard, and he wasn’t afraid to use it. The soft spoken young man exuded an unassuming and affable air, smiling benignly as he offered you a drink on the house while luring you into his hypnotically friendly embrace. He had a way of coaxing you to keep talking with only a few well-calculated probes, and by the time you remembered where you were and who you were talking to, it was far too late. He’d only smile then, probably pat you on the back of the hand and offer you a warm encouragement that would make you think ‘this man is no threat’. You’d never think he’d psychoanalyzed you to within an inch of your life and probably already had a half-drafted profile of you outlined in his head. He’d tried his tricks on Levi once and he’d been avoiding the boy since.

The last of Armin’s cohort was a chirpy blonde barmaid named Christa who sashayed through the huddled, contemporary furnishings in a sleek burgundy uniform that seemed a little too impractically tight and eye-catching for what her job-title should have entailed. Her modus operandi was obvious and cliché, but no less effective; drunk old men with deep pockets were an easy target, and Christa didn’t shy from cheap tricks. She too had tried her wiles on him once, before they’d been properly introduced and he’d been mistaken for just another client. ‘I’m fucking your boss,’ Levi had said at her doe-eyed beguiling’s. He hadn’t meant to sound crass or threatening, as in hindsight it probably had seemed, but he’d never admit aloud that he’d panicked when the tiny girl, who looked a third of his age, tried to pull a move on him. The point was she hadn’t tried that again since, and if it meant he’d have to suffer through her unnerving stare watching him whenever he was within her sight like she was scoping out evidence of his admission for herself, then so be it.

Levi didn’t know much about the Titan’s. They didn’t have the same presence in the everyday functions of the 104th like everyone else did, so they couldn’t be as easily observed. Their work was more behind the scenes, and while Levi was indeed curious every time he saw Mikasa leading her trio into one of those sinister back rooms after some unfortunate client, he apparently didn’t have _that_ clearance just yet.

 

“You’re an oddity,” Eren had said a week after they’d accepted him on a ‘strictly trial basis’, according to Mikasa, at least.

“How so?”

They were in Eren’s office sorting through a list of ‘cleaning’ jobs Levi admitted to being behind. It was essentially to give the head trio a better idea of his skillset and capacity for discretion, not unlike a very unofficial, very morbid portfolio, but unfortunately the jobs Levi considered his best weren’t among them. They were the type of jobs no one could ever know had been orchestrated, no matter how many years had passed, how many of those involved had died, and how trustworthy the people who wanted to know were. They were the types of jobs he’d done so well he couldn’t prove he’d done them at _all_ without quite a lot of time and effort anyway. Eren had pouted at his explanation, but thankfully Mikasa – whose opinion seemed to be law on these matters, had accepted that with a respectful nod. Armin had just looked at him curiously, not unlike Marco-the-freaky-bartender’s canny, all-seeing stare.

“Everyone here wants a piece of you. He doesn’t show it, but it kills Armin to not be able to dig up every one of your dirty little secrets. Mikasa, too, is frothing at the mouth at not being able to have you in her ranks. She won’t admit to it, but she’d been following you since she was young, determined to be 'the Cleaner of the West' herself someday.”

What an awkward and embarrassing title.

Levi picked up a newspaper clipping from almost a decade ago. It detailed the tragic death of a state Senator in a car accident ruled to have been a result of rainy weather and fatigue. His vehicle had plunged into an overflowing lake and he’d drowned, trapped in his seat. It seemed like such an open-and-shut case the coroner hadn’t hardly bothered to run tests on the fluids in the Senator’s lungs, or they’d surely have found suspicious discrepancies between the chlorine water they’d find there and the fresh water of the lake he'd supposedly drowned in. Hardly one of Levi’s most elaborate schemes, but it was never smart to get too creative on such high-profile targets. He felt Eren move behind him, perching his chin on his shoulder to read the article in his hand as his arms wrapped around his waist.

“…In fact everyone here is probably more qualified to have a piece of you than I am, and yet here you are, all mine.”

_All mine._

Levi picked up a photograph taken from the window of a building at a high angle. The focus was a Chinese mining magnate, surrounded by his small army of security. They hadn’t helped much in the end.

“We’re at work,” He warned. Eren’s arms tightened in petty defiance. Levi could feel his gaze on him, quietly observing his profile.

“What are you going to do, quit?” Eren’s voice was full of teasing. Some things hadn’t changed at all in six years; exhibit A: Eren’s maturity level. Levi wrenched his arm from around his middle and spun out of his embrace, twisting Eren’s arm awkwardly around with him until the younger man was forced to turn to avoid pain. Unbalanced and blindsided by the turn of events, it only took a light push in the chest from Levi to make Eren trip backwards and land on the desk behind him, scattering papers and photographs across the floor. Eren sat heavily with a surprised ‘ _oof!_ ’ and looked up at Levi, wide-eyed and bewildered.

“I could do _that_ ,” Levi answered lightly. He stepped forward between Eren’s spread legs and green eyes followed his movements with hungry anticipation. Levi held his gaze as he slowly leaned forward and plucked his tea cup from the desk behind him. Eren released a frustrated huff of air as Levi took a long, leisurely sip, hiding his smile.

“I’m your bodyguard not your secretary.” Eren’s gaze was wandering down to his unbuttoned collar. Levi smacked him lightly on the side of his head, forcing his eyes upwards in indignation. “ _Behave_.”

The door swung open behind them as Mikasa entered, flipping through the one of the many files of Levi’s ‘portfolio’. She paused as she glanced up, catching them frozen in their compromising position, before letting out an exasperating sigh and continuing forward.

“So this is what you two get up to while I’m running around doing all the work.”

Levi briefly considered explaining that it wasn’t what it looked like, but dismissed the idea on the grounds that it wasn’t worth the effort given he didn’t give a shit either way.

“Now that Levi’s joined our ranks, I really think it would be in your best interests to take up knocking like I’ve tried to encourage for years,” Eren muttered.

“You’re sitting on the rest of the files,” Mikasa said, ignoring his words and glaring at the mess of paperwork spilling onto the floorboards with a razor-sharp eyebrow arched irritably.

“I checked them already.”

Mikasa shot her brother an unimpressed look, smacked her own file down on his desk loudly, and crossing her arms. She still didn’t look at Levi. Levi thought about the fact that she used to look up to him and quite possibly still may. He thought about how it must be, to walk in on your little brother wrapped around your childhood hero. He wouldn’t look them in the eye either. Levi neatly stepped out of Eren’s space, happy to let the siblings duke it out between themselves.

“And you did that with your arse planted firmly on the evidence, did you?”

She called his life’s work evidence. Levi might be more wounded if she wasn’t technically spot on; what else would you call a collection of materials proving a crime?

“What do you think we were doing all this time, fucking with our clothes on?” Eren retorted. “I’m good, thank you, but I’m not that _fast_.”

“Yikes,” Levi muttered into his teacup. It was long empty and he couldn’t pretend to sip from it forever.

Mikasa pulled a face and smacked the side of his head a little harder than Levi had. Levi remained professionally impassive, although from the annoyed look Eren shot him, it was clear his amusement was known and not appreciated.

“Bring your gear tomorrow.” Mikasa directed this at Levi. “We've seen your work in theory, now we’ll see how good you are in practise.”

Levi couldn't help cracking his blank expression just enough to let a small smile slip through.

"And who will be testing me, the Cleaner of the West?"

"All four of them." Mikasa's little smile matched his own. "Lucky you."

**Author's Note:**

> Pls gimme some sugar ie comments and kudos thank (✿◠‿◠)


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